THE CEREBRAL TEARJERKER

By: B -- 3/24/05

Nobody Knows is your quintessential “high art” film. Based on a true story, the subtitled Japanese movie is a tragic story about four young children forced to fend for themselves after being abandoned by their flighty mother. 12-year-old Akira (played by Yuya Yagira, winner of Best Actor at the 2004 Cannes) is left with the responsibility of raising the family with little money and no job. The film is shot with the consistency of a documentary, with acoustic guitars in the background and not even a hint of a noticeable plotline.

It’s a risky film in every capacity. Rather than plot points building up to a climax, Nobody Knows is told mainly through a series of vignette scenes only loosely related. I had to give this film my full attention through its entirety just to keep up. I dig that in a movie, but I can understand why most feel differently.

While the relationships between the four children are simultaneously tender and heartbreaking, its dark theme and matter-of-fact storytelling will likely cause many a filmgoer to give up halfway through. Nobody Knows is high art at its finest, but high art nonetheless.

POP RATING: 2.5

CRITICAL RATING: 9

B’S RATING: 7.5

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